Tiny Toes

One of the things I'll miss most about my babies growing up...

Royal Mess of FUN!

This morning it was just me and my girls in the BIG city. We've been doing this lately; packing up the purse and loading up to have some Seattle adventures. Pearson absolutely loves it. She gushes over the tall buildings and tunnels, with "lights like sparkles". It's a simple joy rediscovering the city that changed me through her innocent eyes...
While we were there, we stopped by KYK's posh British bash this morning to watch, celebrate, and generally live vicariously the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. May I say it and the surrounding festivities were delightful! As an added bonus, the sun was shining, my girls were on their best behavior, and I got to drink champagne at 10AM (what mom doesn't love that?)... Also, I had a long overdue chat with Bethy! There was romance, frivolous hats, tea and crumpets...
Speaking of British manners and sophistication; do you ever think that the Brits sort of view us as their strange, unpredictable cousin who's just this side of trashy? Like they have to be invited, but secretly you've sent word to your aunt they should NOT wear jeans to the occasion...just a thought.
After the party, we went to lunch with my girl Kat and her baby Henry. Though short, I love my seal!
Below is the only picture I could get with the three of us today; it'll do!

And an update: the ninja antibiotics worked! I have my little smiler back to business:

Answer.

I told myself if I got five comments I'd let it ride, so without further ado; the first and maybe only installment of:

Fishing For Pennies

Part 1

Fae sat still. Very still, almost like the discarded garden statue of an angel she sat next to on the wrapped and sagging porch. Fae listened intently while staring at the angel. At first she saw youth frozen in time. No fine lines; recognizable bone structure, perfect symmetry. Or is that all we seem to see from the other end of life? Existential queries aside, she peered at the statue closer. It was rusted over, arms outstretched in a gesture of profound sadness and confusion. The angel looked upward. Wholly unlike herself she thought sarcastically.
Ripped from these thoughts, impending voices loomed. Fervently hoping she would not be noticed, called upon to engage in useless conversation, or worst of all; fussed over she quickly scooped up a magazine with some ridiculous pint-sized celebrity on the cover.
Fae, it’s upside-down. Quick, turn it right-side-up so they do not resolutely assume that you are losing the remainder of your mind. She knew who they were before she actually saw them. Brushing the corner of the old house, two identical women walked purposely towards her. Fae straightened up, resurrecting the veneer she had laboriously constructed. Then with the harsh clarity afforded by age and experience; she knew it had come. It was as if she had been desperately waiting for and dreading this moment for the entirety of her long life. And now finally, it had come full circle. The moment was now.
“My girls! Doing charitable work today or is visiting your grandmother now a monthly quota?” Fae said with smiling eyes. Somehow even she noticed the smile hadn’t reached her lips. Smoothing the gap created by the buttons in her shirt she bent forward to take the blow.
“Nana, you look absolutely grand today. Almost regal…” said Frankie as she trailed off on the last word. And she really did. Almost as if Fae understood she was strong enough now. Time was running on, but it could not run on endlessly. Frankie glanced at her nearly mirrored reflection and silently they both agreed; something has shifted.
Taking a chance, Romi broached the subject before the niceties had commenced. “Nana, we need to know. You understand that now, don’t you?”
“Yes, I do.”

Question?

Dearest Loyal Blog Readers,
Would my BR's be at all interested if I posted some of a short story I have been writing? I don't know if it's a good idea to post this because I have no copyright and people could copy and paste me willy-nilly. Hopefully someone has not copy-righted the phrase, "willy-nilly" as I've just violated it. In NO way do I claim it would be good enough to copy and paste it even on a table cloth, but you never know. Also, as a warning, I don't have much right now (two pages), but I wonder if posting bits of it would give me the motivation to keep it going. Leave a comment if you like this idea or let me know if you like it business-as-usual!
Yours in WORD and deed,

Mama said...

there'd be days like this.
Mama, yesterday was one of those days. No joke this is what happened to me in near perfect order yesterday:
Spilled my coffee
Harper took a huge bite out of AND ATE a piece of candle
Scandalous fight with Pea about shoes before preschool
Rope burns at crossfit
Yet ANOTHER cracked gallon of milk at Safeway. Dude, Safeway? It's becoming an epidemic.
No time to shower which was desperately needed before airport run
Stealthily (or akin to stealth-mode) watching a couple making out at the airport and literally slammed my forehead with the car door. Hurt so bad I actually teared up...bruise pending.
Harper had a BLOW OUT through her clothes at the mall (did I mention I didn't get to shower after three days AND already had a coffee/poop stained shirt-what's the difference really?)
Harper teething and on top of that contracted some sort of mutant DOUBLE ear infection which has immunity to the antibiotics prescribed...doctor appt pending.
Came home and spilled an entire box of couscous on my kitchen floor. Possibly the worst thing to spill on the floor in the history of mankind.
Broke my garage door and now it will not open. p.s. Mr. B also known as "Fix-it" when things break is at the moment sunning it up (i.e. "working") in Las Vegas this week so guess who has to park outside for the remainder of the week...

Some things I'm thankful for in the midst of all this: Tangled and Toy Story, watching Vampire Diaries at night without protest, the person who I dedicate the aforementioned song title to is coming to stay with me tomorrow; my real Mama. Praise Jesus.

Hats off to Christ!

He is risen! He is Risen, indeed!
Happy Easter!
Our weekend kicked off with Garrett, Denise, and baby M all coming to visit and stay the night, which was so fun! Good friends, good food, and a mini party! Here are Babe H & Babe M reunited...

Today was a good day. Bummer there was not a great deal of sun in which to bask as we celebrate, but that's OK because there was THE son (of man)! I am particularly grateful this Easter 2011 for the salvation provided us by God. It is all sufficient. What an amazing and selfless sacrifice of love, of mercy, and grace. Here are some photos from today; three things of note...
1. Harper fell asleep for the better part of the day (she's teething and getting over yet ANOTHER ear infection...) so there might not be THAT many pictures of her.
2. Little Pea is so cute! I love to watch her on Easter, it's egg hunting is one of her favorite holiday activities.
3. Everyone wore delicious hats from a treasured collection to celebrate. These hats inspired me to no end. Considering bringing back the sophistication and creativity of a good hat...

Prep Period

In preparation for our Hawaii trip coming up in 8 weeks, the Bell belles are BACK in swim lessons for a period of time. I hope to have Pearson at the very least comfortable in the water and have SOME skills when it comes to water safety since there will be a grand total of 5 girls 5 years and under on this vaca. Each belle has a different water-related personality ranging from extremely cautious to forgets they are even in a pool (you take a guess as to who's who).
That being said, a bonus about this trip is the plethora of watchful eyes/babysitters we will have on tap as our whole clan will be embarking on this adventure.
Hopefully we will make some progress during these swim lessons (i.e. actually put our face in the water, etc.).
I'll keep you posted...to tide (wink, wink...I love puns) you over...here's a picture I stole from Andi's blog:

Pirate Party!

There were just so many cute pictures of Harper's first birthday extravaganza on Saturday that I couldn't decide so I'm posting all the ones we loved. Shout out to Andi for some incredible pictures.
Despite my party planning concern it was a success; complete with two striped cakes, butter-rum candy, a treasure map, eye patches, present opening, and so much fun! Thanks to everyone who attended and celebrated our littlest lady.
We love our little pirate, even if you cried when we sang you Happy Birthday...

Games Update

Ty competed again today in the crossfit games-he did really well! Go LTG:)
AMRAP for 10 minutes of:
60 x Bar-facing Burpees (aka pure torture).
30 x Overhead Squat (120/95lbs)
10 x Muscle-ups (a batty move for gymnasts or crossfitters on rings).
Shout out to our cousin Shannon who competed and my dad and sister who came to watch, here are some pictures of today's open:

Random Thursday Thoughts

I am not a natural born party planner.
At all.
I know tremendously capable party planners who think of every detail and have a coordination of events and can COOK for goodness sake. As for myself, it's a bit of a challenge. So I pick myself up by the boot straps and play up my strengths when it comes to party planning:
-Witty names for themes, snacks, and favors.
-painting signage.
-chatting it up at said party.
...then pray for the best.
All that to say I have a LOT to do before this Saturday.
I'll report back on my skills as they will be tested greatly in the next two months!

Did anyone see Oprah yesterday? I loved it. I love Stevie Nicks. I love her voice, her outfits, her songwriting, the whole lot. In a vain attempt to get one of my girls named after her, I campaigned for the name "Stevie" to Tyler BOTH times we were expecting. I thought it was sort of kitsch and I could then kill two birds with one stone; desired name and thus ALSO named after their father and grandfather.
And no. My campaign slid downhill faster than Howard Dean's after his infamous hyena scream.
Speaking of performances on Oprah: I loved Pat Benatar. Solid pipes, that one.
But let's be honest. Did or did not Avril Lavigne look like a female Edward Scissor Hands standing there next to her? Or at the very least some type of alien standing in between Pat and her hubby...
Just an observation.
Yours reconsidering studs,

Walk in the Park

On Saturday, my friend Katie and I, along with Andi and our 7 (yikes!) children between us, did a 2.5k walk for another mutual friend Julia whose baby was diagnosed with Infantile Spasms; a form of epilepsy. It was a great day, a good walk, and an even better cause!

For more walk adventures see below! These are a couple pictures on Babe H's birthday as walked up to the park for her cupcake party...

Happy Harper Day!

Today you are one year old, Babe H! Harper, your sweet spirit has filled our house and we love you and your infectious smile. One of your nicknames is Hippity Hoppity Harper.
You are a mama's girl.
You like to dance and rough-house and your favorite thing to do is watch all the craziness. You are mesmerized by your sister Pearson and much loved by her. Harper, you are like sunshine. I had a feeling about that before you were born which is why your room is yellow.

We heart you! Happy Birthday girlie...

Click here to see her cupcake party at the park today:)

Missing, Presumed Dead

Some loyal readers (ok, one...) asked for a crossfit update on my end. As for Tyler, he's still competing, but that's not me. I am still doing it and I'm still sore after a good work out. In 9 months, I'd say I'm in the best shape I've been in maybe ever. I can do things physically that I never thought possible like:
5 pull-ups in a row without assistance
Running a mile without walking
10-15 double-unders in a row (see below)

They all seemed completely impossible, but I have stuck with it and am proud of what I've accomplished. In the spirit of being totally truthful I don't eat all that well; I'd say that is my next goal, which at the moment seems impossible. But so once did crossfit and I've at the very least stuck with it.
All this to say:
Crossfit, you've stolen the following from me: some dignity, two cup sizes, and ALL of my ego. I'm not pressing charges; I'm grateful!

Our Week in Pictures

I rarely do this because I don't have my camera out all the time, but it's been sitting out since Disneyland and here you have it; it's been a fun week...